Do Science Bloggers Exercise Free Will?

That's the question--as I stare at the census data in search of a juicy trend--that would seem the most sensational and draw the most readers. A trend...that challenges the notion that you decide how often you post and how much time you invest in each post. To find it, having already decided it's there, I broke my brain a couple of times combining three census data sets: (1) Years Blogging; (2) Blogging Frequency; and (3) Time Investment Per Blog Post. Below are the fruits of my labors. Did I find the trend I was looking for? A trend that suggests the longer you blog, the more likely it will be that you will spend 1 to 2 hours writing about one post per week? Judge for yourself.

My feeling is I didn't find a trend. My kung fu is not yet strong enough. Nevertheless, if you're wondering how your blogging habits compare with your peers, now you know. Maybe they know something you don't, like a substantial time investment per post does pay off in the long run--you should try it. Or, you don't have to post every day after all. Or, the secret to blogging longevity.

Oh, and the above is just the end result. How I got there was just as much fun... From my scratch paper:

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